Congress organized Washington as one judicial district, authorized one judgeship for the U.S. district court, and assigned the district to the Ninth Circuit. The act became effective upon the admission of the State of Washington on November 11, 1889.

March 2, 1905
33 Stat. 824

Washington divided into two judicial districts, the Eastern and the Western, with one judgeship authorized for each district. The sitting judge was assigned to the Western District.

March 2, 1909
35 Stat. 686

One additional judgeship authorized for the Western District.

May 31, 1938
52 Stat. 584

One additional judgeship authorized for the Western District.

January 20, 1940
54 Stat. 16

The judgeship authorized for the Western District in 1938 was made a judgeship for both the Eastern and the Western Districts.

May 19, 1961
75 Stat. 80

The existing judgeship serving both districts was assigned exclusively to the Western District, and one additional judgeship was authorized to serve both districts.

October 20, 1978
92 Stat. 1629

The existing judgeship serving both districts was assigned exclusively to the Western District, and one additional judgeship was authorized for each district.

July 10, 1984
98 Stat. 333

One additional permanent judgeship authorized for the Eastern District, one additional permanent judgeship and one temporary judgeship for the Western District.

December 1, 1990
104 Stat. 5089

One additional judgeship authorized for the Eastern District, and the temporary judgeship authorized for the Western District in 1984 was made permanent. Under the terms of the act, a new judge is to be appointed to any court from which an active judge "assumes the duties of a full-time office of Federal judicial administration." If the judge assuming such a position returns as an active judge of the court, the first vacancy occurring thereafter will not be filled. This act thus provided for the appointment of another judge to the district court in 2003, when a sitting judge, Barbara Rothstein, became director of the Federal Judicial Center.